Bob Spiers

Bob Spiers was a film and television director best known for his work on such series as "Absolutely Fabulous" and "Fawlty Towers." After graduating from Southgate College, in 1970 Spiers began working entry-level production jobs at the BBC in London. His first job was a production assistant on the World War II family comedy "Dad's Army," and by 1976 he had worked his way up to directing episodes of shows like "It Ain't Half Hot Mum" and producing numerous shows, including "Seaside Special." In 1979, Spiers was chosen to direct the second season of the critically acclaimed comedy "Fawlty Towers," which starred John Cleese as an inept and short-tempered bed and breakfast owner. After winning a BAFTA award for his direction, Spiers next directed the Australian version of the classic BBC series "Are You Being Served in Australia" and produced numerous episodes of the long-running absurdist comedy "The Goodies." Between 1988 and 1995 Spiers directed over a dozen episodes of the influential BBC sketch comedy show "French and Saunders," which led to him working with the comedic duo on their signature show, "Absolutely Fabulous." In the mid-90s Spiers broke away from the BBC and began working in America, where his first film was the 1997 family comedy "That Darn Cat." That same year he directed the big-budget musical comedy "Spice World," which followed the misadventures of successful pop group The Spice Girls.